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Featuring diverse structural motions/changes, dynamic molecular systems hold promise for executing complex tasks. However, their structural complexity presents formidable challenge in elucidating their kinetics, especially when multiple structural motions are intercorrelated. We herein introduce a twin‐cavity cage that features interconvertible C3‐ and C1‐configurations, with each configuration exhibiting interchangeable P‐ and M‐conformations. This molecule is therefore composed of four interconnected chiral species (P)‐C3, (M)‐C3, (P)‐C1, (M)‐C1. We showcase an effective approach to decouple these sophisticated structural changes into two kinetically distinct pathways. Utilizing time‐dependent 1H NMR spectroscopy at various temperatures, which disregards the transition between mirror‐image conformations, we first determine the rate constant (kc) for the C3‐ to C1‐configuration interconversion, while time‐dependent circular dichroism spectroscopy at different temperatures quantifies the observed rate constant (kobs) of the ensemble of all the structural changes. As kobs≫ ${{\rm { \gg }}}$ kc, it allows us to decouple the overall molecular motions into a slow configurational transformation and rapid conformational interconversions, with the latter further dissected into two independent conformational interchanges, namely (P)‐C3←→ ${ \mathbin{{\stackrel{\textstyle\rightarrow} { {\smash{\leftarrow}\vphantom{_{\vbox to.5ex{\vss}}}} } }} }$ (M)‐C3 and (P)‐C1←→ ${ \mathbin{{\stackrel{\textstyle\rightarrow} { {\smash{\leftarrow}\vphantom{_{\vbox to.5ex{\vss}}}} } }} }$ (M)‐C1. This work, therefore, sheds light on the comprehensive kinetic study of complex molecular dynamics, offering valuable insights for the rational design of smart dynamic materials for applications of sensing, separation, catalysis, molecular machinery, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featuring diverse structural motions/changes, dynamic molecular systems hold promise for executing complex tasks. However, their structural complexity presents formidable challenge in elucidating their kinetics, especially when multiple structural motions are intercorrelated. We herein introduce a twin‐cavity cage that features interconvertible C3‐ and C1‐configurations, with each configuration exhibiting interchangeable P‐ and M‐conformations. This molecule is therefore composed of four interconnected chiral species (P)‐C3, (M)‐C3, (P)‐C1, (M)‐C1. We showcase an effective approach to decouple these sophisticated structural changes into two kinetically distinct pathways. Utilizing time‐dependent 1H NMR spectroscopy at various temperatures, which disregards the transition between mirror‐image conformations, we first determine the rate constant (kc) for the C3‐ to C1‐configuration interconversion, while time‐dependent circular dichroism spectroscopy at different temperatures quantifies the observed rate constant (kobs) of the ensemble of all the structural changes. As kobs≫ ${{\rm { \gg }}}$ kc, it allows us to decouple the overall molecular motions into a slow configurational transformation and rapid conformational interconversions, with the latter further dissected into two independent conformational interchanges, namely (P)‐C3←→ ${ \mathbin{{\stackrel{\textstyle\rightarrow} { {\smash{\leftarrow}\vphantom{_{\vbox to.5ex{\vss}}}} } }} }$ (M)‐C3 and (P)‐C1←→ ${ \mathbin{{\stackrel{\textstyle\rightarrow} { {\smash{\leftarrow}\vphantom{_{\vbox to.5ex{\vss}}}} } }} }$ (M)‐C1. This work, therefore, sheds light on the comprehensive kinetic study of complex molecular dynamics, offering valuable insights for the rational design of smart dynamic materials for applications of sensing, separation, catalysis, molecular machinery, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunnel projects in the southwestern mountainous area of China are in full swing. According to the tunnel burial depth, structural characteristics, and chemical erosion environments of the Lixiang railway tunnel, carbonaceous slate specimens obtained in the field were taken to experimentally investigate the physical, mechanical, and creep characteristics of the bedding's slate specimens after chemical erosion. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicate that chemical erosion leads to internal damage in the carbonaceous slate specimens, and the internal damages are increasing with the increase of erosion days. Moreover, the specimens' ultrasonic test (UT) results prove that specimens with smaller bedding angles suffer a more serious erosion and induce more internal cracks. Under conventional triaxial compression conditions with 40 MPa of confining pressures, the conventional triaxial compressive strength (σs) decreases with the decrease of the bedding angle and the increase of erosion days, and the failure modes of the specimens are mainly controlled by oblique shear fractures and accompanied by the occurrence of slip dislocation fractures between the bedding inclination. Under creep conditions with 40 MPa of confining pressures, the final deformations of specimens are increasing with the increase of erosion days, which means the longer the erosion days, the greater the deformations. The failure modes of the specimens under creep conditions are controlled by shear fractures, and for the specimen with a 60° bedding angle and long-term erosion, there are block separations and many cavities along the shear planes. Therefore, more attention should be paid to prevent serious failure of the surrounding rock if the surrounding rock has a bedding angle of 60° or suffers long-term erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a simple and compact reconfigurable antenna, whose radiation direction and beamwidth can be manipulated, is proposed based on active frequency‐selective surfaces (AFSSs). This design is completed by using a monopole antenna and six reflective AFSS screens, while its reconfigurable behavior is obtained by employing semiconductor switches. By applying different biasing voltages on the diode switches, the operating state of the AFSS screens can be configurated; therefore, the radiation direction and beamwidth of the monopole antenna can be controlled. From 1.8 to 2 GHz, the omnidirectional scanning response can be achieved at xoy‐plane with the step of 60° and the maximum radiant efficiency is 96%. Furthermore, the 3 dB beamwidth can also be adjusted from 176° to 120° with the measured gains of 4.58–6.53 dB. The diameter of this structure is only 50 mm, which is a relatively small structural size for an omnidirectional beam‐sweeping antenna. Finally, the proposed design is validated by numerical simulations and experimental measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilm formation is one of the most important factors causing drug resistance of Helicobacter pylori. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the mechanism underlying the biofilm formation and its eradication methods. The outer membrane proteins (OMPs) play important roles in the formation of bacterial biofilms and are considered the essential targets for new drug discovery. Natural products play significant roles in anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm functions. This study explored the key OMPs involved in the biofilm formation of H. pylori and the natural products that target these OMPs. Transcriptome sequencing, gene knockout, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) were performed to reveal that OMP6 was involved in the biofilm formation of H. pylori , which was regulated by non-phosphorylated ArsR. Molecular docking suggested that aloe-emodin (AE) could target OMP6 and destroy the biofilms of H. pylori. Further exploration of its mechanism found that AE could also inhibit the expression of omp6 mRNA by binding to its regulator ArsR. In summary, we have discovered a novel molecular mechanism regulating the biofilm formation of H. pylori and identified a natural product against H. pylori biofilms, providing potential clues for clinical treatment of H. pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino acid‐based surfactants are environmentally friendly surfactants, which have aroused increasing interest. In the application of amino acid‐based surfactants, they are often compounded with other kinds of surfactants to obtain formulations that meet certain requirements. Herein, sodium lauroyl glycinate (C12‐Gly‐Na) was selected as a representative amino acid‐based surfactant to compound with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]), a cationic surfactant (dodecyl trimethyl ammonium Bromide), and a nonionic surfactant (Triton X‐100: p‐octyl polyethylene glycol phenyl ether). Surface tension measurements and interfacial dilational rheological experiments were performed to study the interfacial behaviors of C12‐Gly‐Na and its mixtures. The results show that mixture systems have better interfacial activity than individual C12‐Gly‐Na and there is an obvious synergy between C12‐Gly‐Na and C12TAB under strong electrostatic attraction. Thus, the C12‐Gly‐Na/C12TAB mixture shows lower critical micelle concentration (CMC) and γCMC and higher dilational modulus than the individual surfactants. Besides, the film formed by the C12‐Gly‐Na/C12TAB mixture has higher viscoelasticity than single C12‐Gly‐Na and its mixtures with SDS and TX‐100. With the increase of bulk concentration, the dilational moduli of C12‐Gly‐Na, C12‐Gly‐Na/SDS, and C12‐Gly‐Na/TX‐100 run through two maxima, while, due to stronger electrostatic attraction, only one maximum appears in the C12‐Gly‐Na/C12TAB system. The study of the interfacial properties of amino acid surfactant and its mixtures with other surfactants provides a theoretical foundation for potential applications in cosmetic, food processing, and daily chemical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• After ICH, neurons show features of ferroptosis in vitro, in vivo and in human. • Ferroptosis occurs in the acute phase of ICH. • Ferroptosis presents in perihematoma and distant brain areas of hematoma. • Fer-1 exerts neuroprotective effects in long-term, but not in short term. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating subtype of stroke because it has few viable therapeutic options to intervene against primary or second brain injury. Recently, evidence has suggested that ferroptosis, a nonapoptotic form of cell death, is involved in ICH. In this study, we examined whether ICH-induced neuron death is partly ferroptotic in humans and assessed its temporal and spatial characteristics in mice. Furthermore, the ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) was used to examine the role of ferroptosis after ICH. Fold changes in ferroptosis-related gene expression, intracellular iron levels, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and both protein levels and cellular localization of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were measured to monitor ferroptosis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was also performed to examine the ultrastructure of cells after ICH. We found that the expression level of prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase (PTGS2) was increased in both in vitro and in vivo ICH models; by comparison, expression level of RPL8 was increased in human brain tissue. In mice, iron and MDA levels were significantly increased 3 h after ICH; COX-2 levels were increased at 12 h after ICH and peaked at 3 days after ICH; COX-2 colocalized with NeuN (a neuronal biomarker); and TEM showed that shrunken mitochondria were found at 3 h, 3 days, and 7 days after ICH. Moreover, ICH-induced neurological deficits, memory impairment and brain atrophy were reduced by Fer-1 treatment. Our results demonstrated that neuronal ferroptosis occurs during the acute phase of ICH in brain areas distant from the hematoma and that inhibition of ferroptosis by Fer-1 exerted a long-term cerebroprotective effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavation unloading is a primary stress condition for engineering rock mass in deep underground. Based on the unloading stress condition during the excavation operation, this paper employed a distinct element method (DEM) to simulate the unloading responses of intact and preflawed rock specimens. The simulation results revealed that the unloading failure strength, unloading damage thresholds, and cracking characteristics were largely dependent on the inclination angle α of the preflaws. With the increase in the flaw inclination angle, the unloading failure strength of a preflawed specimen exhibited a sigmoidal curve increasing trend, and it decreased by 5.5%-20% compared to the unloading failure strength of an intact specimen. Based on the crack accumulation in specimens, three damage thresholds were identified under unloading condition and two damage thresholds σci and σdi were found to be increased with the increase in the flaw inclination angle. Furthermore, when the flaw inclination angle was smaller, cracks were initiated around the preflaws, and there were obvious axial splitting cracks in the failure modes of preflawed specimens, while axial splitting cracks were few in the preflawed specimen with a larger flaw inclination angle and none in the intact specimen. These unloading responses indicate that inducing preflaws can reliably reduce the unloading failure strength and promote the cracking process of hard rock during an excavation unloading process. Moreover, inducing preflaws with a smaller inclination angle (e.g., vertical to the unloading direction) will be more helpful for the unloading failure and rock cracking during an excavation unloading process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In deep underground mine, besides the high static in situ stress, openings such as stopes, drifts, and shafts in underground mine are also frequently subjected to dynamic waves coming from blasting and earthquake. The interactions of these waves with the opening boundaries can be under arbitrary incident angles and thus would induce different damages. In order to investigate the dynamic response of openings under the oblique incidence of blasting load, numerical modeling of wave incidence to a rectangular opening at different incident angles and the associated dynamic failure was carried out under various in situ stress states. The numerical model established by the discrete element code PFC2D was first validated against theoretical results for reflection of oblique wave incidence at the free surface at various incident angles. The simulation results showed that the reflected P wave causes spalling around the opening, and the subsequent reflected SV wave further promotes the propagation of tensile cracks. Among them, the opening with vertical wave incidence is the most seriously damaged, while wave incidence at 15° and 30° angles results in similar damage degree on the incident side of the opening. The damage of the opening at a 45° incident angle is light. With the increase of burial depth, the position of spalling at the incident side gets closer to the sidewall of the opening. When the buried depth is 1,200 m, the largest number of cracks around the opening is achieved for wave incidence at a 45° angle. This research can improve the understanding of the resulting failures from stress-wave incidence to the openings at arbitrary angles and contribute to the design of the opening in the deep underground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite/wollastonite (HA/WS) composite films on titanium alloy were prepared by pulsed laser deposition, and their bioactivity was studied. The dissolution and precipitation behaviors of the films were evaluated by soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF), and the osseointegration ability was evaluated by in vivo test. In the early soaking stage, the dissolution action will dominate, thus resulting in the gradual disappearance of the smooth spherical feature of the particles. After 7 days of soaking, new precipitates were observed which indicates that reprecipitation reaction dominates, and the surface was almost completely covered by new precipitates after the film was soaked for 28 days. The in vivo test showed that the composite films have excellent osseointegration ability. When the sample was embedded in the shin bone of rabbit for 3 weeks, a good combination of bone tissue and implant was achieved, and after embedding for 6 weeks, osteoblasts were observed between the bone tissue and implant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenology reflects the interplay of climate and biological development. Early spring phenological phenomena are particularly important because the end of diapause or dormancy is related not only to heat accumulation in the early spring but also probably to winter low temperatures. Although a warmer winter can reduce overwintering mortality in many insects and plants, it also reduces the accumulation of chilling time that often triggers the end of diapause or dormancy. We examined a continuous 67-year time series of the first flowering date of cherry trees and compared three phenological models based on the temperature-dependent developmental rate: (i) the accumulated degree days (ADD) method, (ii) the number of days transferred to a standardized temperature (DTS) method, and (iii) the accumulated developmental progress (ADP) method. The ADP method performed the best but only slightly better than the DTS method. We further explained the residuals from the ADP method by an additive model using the mean winter minimum daily temperatures, the number of days with low temperatures (represented by daily minimum temperature) below a critical low temperature, and the minimum annual extreme temperature. These three temperature variables explained more than 57.5% deviance of the ADP model residuals. Increased mean winter low temperatures can delay the blooming of cherry trees by reducing the accumulation of chilling time, whereas reduced numbers of cold days can shift the blooming to become earlier. Overall, rising winter low temperatures will delay the flowering time, while rising early spring temperatures directly shift earlier the flowering time. The flowering time has been shifted to earlier, and the balance from the opposing effects of rising winter low temperatures and early spring temperatures explains this shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable wind power and ramp event prediction is essential for the safe and stable operation of electric power systems. Previous prediction methods struggled to forecast large fluctuations in wind power caused by extreme weather conditions, severely limiting the development of wind power prediction techniques. Based on this problem, an improved hybrid model is presented in this study, that utilises long short-term memory (LSTM) by considering wind power ramp events (WPREs). First, the LSTM network was driven by numerical weather prediction (NWP) to forecast day-ahead wind power. Second, a novel improved dynamic swinging door algorithm (ImDSDA) and a fuzzy C-means (FCM) model were utilised for WPRE detection and classification respectively. Third, a similarity-matching mechanism was proposed to correct the predicted WPREs. Finally, the predicted wind power was reconstructed using the optimised WPREs.The model, which was validated in three mountainous wind farms in central China, can capture the temporal dynamics of wind power using deep learning and WPRE prediction. The proposed model's results outperformed a few existing methods and can provide scientific guidance for the safe dispatching and economic operation of power systems. • A novel short-term wind power forecasting method is presented. • The algorithm is based on LSTM model and ramp events forecasting. • The predicted ramp events are corrected by a similarity matching approach. • The method shows good performance in accuracy. • Enable auxiliary decision-making for power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The authors report the case of a 34-year-old man who presented with intractable hiccups. The imaging examination showed that the patient was suffering from syringomyelia associated with Chiari type I malformation. Case Descriptions The patient underwent posterior fossa decompression combined with bilateral tonsillectomy and duroplasty. The intractable hiccups completely resolved 1 week after operation and had not recurred at 2 months after surgery. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging showed the atrophy of the tonsils of the cerebellum and disappearance of the cavities of the spinal cord. Conclusions Intractable hiccups as the main symptoms of Chiari type I malformation are extremely rare in the clinic. Decompression surgery should be an appropriate method to relieve the symptoms. Highlights • Intractable hiccups are a rare symptom of Chiari type I malformation. • We reported a patient with Chiari type I malformation who suffered from intractable hiccups. • When intractable hiccups occurred, we scheduled an MRI examination to exclude Chiari type I malformation. • Decompressive surgery can significantly alleviate intractable hiccups caused by Chiari type I malformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The theoretical solutions of stress variations for rock mass subjected to multi perforation hydraulic fracturing (MPHF) under excavation condition were obtained. • A numerical model to simulate the MPHF under excavation was established using a flow-coupled discrete element method (DEM), and it is verified by the theoretical solutions. • Stress and fracture characteristics during MPHF under excavation condition were presented by considering different MPHF parameters. Performing multi-perforations hydraulic fracturing (MPHF) on the rock mass is a highly effective method for increasing the fracture network, in this paper, MPHF technology was considered to assist mechanical excavation for hard rock mass in underground engineering. To end this, the influences of MPHF on the stress and fracture characteristics of hard rock mass under excavation conditions were investigated theoretically and numerically by considering different perforation spacings, perforation heights, and injection pressures. Theoretical analyses were performed based on the stress field theory of hydraulic fracturing and analytical solutions for excavation stress redistribution. A numerical model was established using a flow-coupled discrete element method, and it was verified using theoretical solutions. The results show that the local maximum principal stresses are in the horizontal direction under different MPHF parameters. The local stress differences decrease as the increasing of perforation spacing and the decreasing of perforation height and injection pressure. With an increase in perforation spacing, fewer horizontal fracture trajectories were generated between the perforation zones, and the number of microcracks initially increased and then decreased, indicating there is an optimal perforation spacing in MPHF under excavation. Moreover, the increase in perforation height, injection pressure, and injection time promote the propagation of crack trajectories and increase the number of microcracks. However, in practice, they should not increase without limits owing to efficiency and economic considerations. Therefore, when using MPHF for preconditioning the rock mass to assist mechanical excavation in the hard rock mass, the project economics and performance can be enhanced by careful selection of appropriate MPHF parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate short- and long-term postpartum complications of different delivery methods in terms of sexual satisfaction, stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and pelvic-floor dysfunction in the Beijing region.Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted between June 30, 2013 and July 1, 2014. Female residents of Beijing aged 20-65 years, who were attending routine physical examinations, were enrolled and completed a face-to-face survey including questions on short- and long-term complications related to sexual satisfaction, SUI, and pelvic-floor dysfunction postpartum.Results: In total, 2649 individuals were enrolled. In comparison with patients that underwent vaginal delivery, patients that had undergone cesarean delivery experienced a greater length of time before resuming intercourse (2.70±2.0 9months vs 4.32±4.10 months; P<0.001) and higher incidences of decreased libido (93 [6.1%] vs 234 [20.7%]; P<0.001), vaginal dryness (39 [2.6%] vs 177 [15.7%]; P<0.001), sexual dissatisfaction (117 [7.7%] vs 234 [20.7%]; P<0.001), and painful intercourse (48 [3.2%] vs 252 [22.3%]; P<0.001) after delivery. Cesarean delivery did not demonstrate any long-term protective effects against future SUI in comparison with vaginal delivery.Conclusion: Cesarean delivery resulted in a greater incidence of adverse effects on postpartum sexual function and cesarean delivery provides no long-term protective effects against postpartum SUI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet potato starch was cross-linked using sodium trimetaphosphate and hydroxypropylated using propylene oxide. The level and position of phosphorus and hydroxypropyl groups within cross-linked and hydroxypropylated sweet potato starch was investigated by phosphorus and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 31 P, 1 H NMR). The cross-linking reaction produced monostarch monophosphate and distarch monophosphate in a molar ratio of 1:1.03, indicating that only half of the introduced phosphorus resulted in a possible cross-link. One cross-link per approximately 2900 glucose residues was found. Phosphorylation leading to monostarch monophosphate mainly occurred at O-3 and O-6 (ratio 1:1). It was inferred that the majority of the cross-links formed in distarch monophosphate were between two glucose residues positioned in different starch chains, while a minor part of the cross-links may be formed between two glucose residues within the same starch chain. Hydroxypropylation under alkaline conditions resulted in the formation of intra-molecular phosphorus cross-links, subsequent hydroxypropylation following cross-linking lowered both the level of intra- and inter-molecular cross-linking. Using 1 H NMR the molar substitution of hydroxypropylation was determined to be 0.155–0.165. The hydroxypropylation predominantly occurred at O-2 (61%), and the level of substitution at O-6 (21%) was slightly higher than that at O-3 (17%). In dual modified starch, the preceding cross-linking procedure resulted in a slightly lower level of hydroxypropylation, where the substitution at O-6 decreased more compared to the substitution at O-2 and O-3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Waxy potato starch remaining and original granules showed similar pasting profiles. [•] Remaining granules exhibited lower peak viscosity than original ones. [•] Shell was smoother and thinner for waxy than for normal potato starch. [•] Blocklet sizes were smaller and more uniform for waxy than for normal potato starch. [•] We found spatial structure diversity between waxy and normal potato starch granules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Specific enzymatic degradation in combination with chromatographic and spectrometric techniques was used to understand acetyl group distribution over the amylopectin populations of differently sized granule fractions from potato and sweet potato starches. The hydrolysates obtained after α-amylase, ß-amylase, pullulanase, and the combination of pullulanase, α-amylase and amyloglucosidase treatment were investigated by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) and Maldi-Tof-MS (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionisation Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry). The acetyl groups were found to be located near the branching point, in the external chain and in the internal chain regions. The acetyl group distributions were different for amylopectin from different granule size fractions. Higher DP (degree of polymerization) fragments were present in the digests of acetylated amylopectin populations of the small size granule starches. Our studies confirmed that acetyl groups were unevenly distributed over the amylopectin populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acetylated potato and sweet potato starches were fractionated according to granule size. From the fractions obtained amylose and amylopectin were isolated and characterized with respect to degree of substitution (DS) and degradability with α-amylase, β-amylase and amyloglucosidase. The DS of the amylose populations of differently sized granule fractions was quite constant. In contrast, the DS of the amylopectin populations originating from the differently sized fractions increased with decreasing granule size. The acetylation was confirmed to occur throughout the amorphous regions, and only take place in the outer lamellae of crystalline regions of starch granules. The amylose populations isolated from small size granule fractions of the acetylated starches tested were less susceptible to all the enzyme digestions than the amylose originating from the large granule fractions, even though the DS was similar. The acetyl populations groups over the amylose molecules are more heterogeneously distributed and located more closely to the non-reducing ends for amylose originating from small size granule fractions when compared to amylose from lager sized granules. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In deep mining engineering, the structural plane such as joints or fractures has a significant influence on the dynamic response of underground opening subject to blast-induced stress wave. In this work, a numerical model was established using the particle flow code (PFC) to investigate the effect of stress waves on the dynamic response of openings. In particular, different inclination angles (i.e., 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°) were considered in the presence of joints to analyze the evolution laws of stress and energy around the opening and characterize the propagation path and superposition of stress waves between the inclined joint and the opening, thereby revealing the dynamic failure characteristics of the opening. The results show that the superposition zone of stress waves can be divided into tensile zone, shear zone, and compression zone, which determine the spalling failure mode of the opening, and the spalling failure to opening is the most severe when the joint inclination angle is 45°. The gradient stress distribution results in the spalling crack on the opening presenting as arc groove spalling. In addition, the increase in lateral pressure coefficient restrains the spalling failure but causes rock burst. The results of this study could provide value for engineers to form a better understanding of the influence of structure planes on the dynamic response of the opening, which would be beneficial to the opening support design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural diversity of vegetable oils endowed the lipid-based amino acid surfactants with a diverse interface self-assembly behavior. Surfactants based on natural building blocks instead of traditional petroleum chemicals have attracted increasing attention in recent years. N-acyl amino acid surfactants derived from vegetable oils and amino acids are popular because of their excellent interfacial properties, biodegradability and low toxicity. Due to the variety of vegetable oils, it is significant to understand the effect of the composition and fatty acids structure of the vegetable oils on the interfacial properties of the synthesized amino acid surfactants. In the study presented herein, two N-acyl amino acid surfactants (Cas-Gly-Na and Cot-Gly-Na) were synthesized using glycine and different vegetable oils, i.e. castor oil and cottonseed oil. The interfacial dilational rheological behavior of the resulting surfactants were investigated. The long hydrophobic tails of Cot-Gly-Na enhanced the intermolecular van der Waals interactions, while the hydroxyl group present on the ricinoleate acyl moiety of Cas-Gly-Na inhibited the interactions between the hydrophobic tails. Thus, Cot-Gly-Na exhibited a higher interfacial activity and could generate stronger adsorption films. Moreover, the hydroxyl group on the hydrophobic tails of Cas-Gly-Na may have caused a molecular reorientation during adsorption at the interface. The obtained results demonstrated that the fatty acyls of amino acid surfactants introduced from different vegetable oils exhibited a significant influence on the interfacial properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A flow-coupled DEM is used to study the HF behaviour under excavation conditions. • Effects of excavation stress redistribution on HF path are analyzed. • The characteristics of HF development under excavation conditions are revealed. • Excavation stress conditions significantly affect the performance of multi-stage HF. The fracture behaviour of single- and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing (HF) under varying excavation stress conditions was studied using a flow-coupled discrete element method (DEM). Conventional HF theories and analytical solutions for excavation stress redistribution are used to verify the numerical model. The numerical simulation results indicated that for the single-stage HF, both the in situ stresses and injection location have major influences on the HF propagation path, caused by the redistributions of the local maximum and minimum principal stresses under excavation conditions. Fractures generally propagate perpendicular to the local minimum principal stress (σ min) and also propagate preferentially towards the area with lower σ min. Hydraulic fractures propagation is dominated by tensile failure, and the generation of fracture branches is disfavored because of the high local compressive stress field induced by the HF process itself. As for multi-stage HF, different excavation stress conditions may cause different fracture development performances because of alterations of the preferred fracture orientation, blunting of propagating fractures, or creating a more complex fracture geometry in the affected zone. Therefore, when using high-pressure HF for preconditioning the rock mass to assist mechanical excavation in hard rock mining, performance can be enhanced by understanding the impact of stress changes and careful selection of appropriate HF methods depending on the in situ stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐pharmacological interventions can improve the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). However, the optimal non‐pharmacological treatments remain controversial. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of multiple non‐pharmacological methods and identify the optimal therapy for BPSD. Potential randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were searched and selected from 15 databases and sources from the inception of the databases until 1 October 2022. Two independent authors implemented study screening, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment. Primary outcome was reduction of Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). The secondary outcome were changes of Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), the Cohen‐Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QoL‐AD), the Abilities of Daily Living scale, and the Apathy Evaluation Scale. Meta‐analyses were performed using STATA v15.0 and ADDIS v1.16.8. The GRADE approaches were utilised to evaluate evidence quality. The present study included 43 RCTs with 4978 participants. The global methodological quality of the RCTs was moderate. Regarding NPI reduction, with moderate‐certainty evidence, exercise plus treatment as usual (TAU) outperformed TAU (mean difference [MD]: −7.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −13.22, −0.76) and ranked as the optimal treatment. For reduction in CSDD, with low‐ to moderate‐certainty evidence, massage plus TAU (MD: −15.26; 95% CI: −20.13, −10.52) and music plus TAU (MD: −2.40; 95% CI: −4.62, −0.12) were associated with greater reduction compared with TAU. For reduction in CMAI, with moderate‐certainty evidence, aromatherapy plus massage (MD: −15.84; 95% CI: −29.76, −2.42) and massage plus music (MD: −13.12; 95% CI: −25.43, −0.76) were significantly more effective than TAU. For improvement in QoL‐AD, with critically low‐ to low‐certainty evidence, there were no statistical differences between any of non‐pharmacological treatments and TAU. Due to the limited number of included studies, network meta‐analysis was not performed for other outcomes. In conclusion, non‐pharmacological treatments are effective for overall symptoms, depression, and agitation. Exercise plus treatment as usual may be an optimal non‐pharmacological intervention for improving the overall BPSD. This may help to guide patients, doctors, and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Helicobacter pylori infections are generally acquired during childhood and affect half of the global population, but its transmission route remains unclear. It is reported that H. pylori can be internalized into Candida, but more evidence is needed for the internalization of H. pylori in human gastrointestinal Candida and vaginal Candida. Methods: Candida was isolated from vaginal discharge and gastric mucosa biopsies. We PCR-amplified and sequenced H. pylori-specific genes from Candida genomic DNA. Using optical and immunofluorescence microscopy, we identified and observed bacteria-like bodies (BLBs) in Candida isolates and subcultures. Intracellular H. pylori antigen were detected by immunofluorescence using Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies. Urease activity in H. pylori internalized by Candida was detected by inoculating with urea-based Sabouraud dextrose agar, which changed the agar color from yellow to pink, indicating urease activity. Results: A total of 59 vaginal Candida and two gastric Candida strains were isolated from vaginal discharge and gastric mucosa. Twenty-three isolates were positive for H. pylori 16S rDNA, 12 were positive for cagA and 21 were positive for ureA. The BLBs could be observed in Candida cells, which were positive for H. pylori 16S rDNA, and were viable determined by the LIVE/DEAD BacLight Bacterial Viability kit. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated antibodies could be reacted specifically with H. pylori antigen inside Candida cells by immunofluorescence. Finally, H. pylori-positive Candida remained positive for H. pylori 16S rDNA even after ten subcultures. Urease activity of H. pylori internalized by Candida was positive. Conclusion: In the form of BLBs, H. pylori can internalize into gastric Candida and even vaginal Candida, which might have great significance in its transmission and pathogenicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southwest region of China has abundant groundwater and high-temperature geothermal energy. Carbonaceous shale, as one of the typical surrounding rocks in this region, often suffers from deterioration effects due to the coupled action of groundwater chemical erosion and high temperature, which affects the long-term stability of tunnel engineering. In order to investigate the deterioration effects of carbonaceous shale under the coupled action of chemical erosion and high temperature, carbonaceous shale from a tunnel of Lixiang Railway in Yunnan Province was taken as the research object. The microstructure and mineral composition of the samples before and after chemical erosion were obtained with a scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer and an X-ray diffraction test. Then, triaxial compression tests were conducted on the samples under different time points and different temperature effects of chemical erosion, and the stress–strain curves and the deterioration laws under a single factor were obtained. An improved numerical simulation method based on the parallel bond model was developed, which can account for the coupled effects of chemical erosion and high temperature on the rock. By simulating the triaxial compression test of carbonaceous shale, the deterioration law of carbonaceous shale under the coupled action was discussed. The results show that chemical erosion has a significant deterioration effect on the triaxial compressive strength of carbonaceous shale, and the degree of deterioration is related to the erosion time. In the first 30 days of erosion, the triaxial compressive strength of carbonaceous shale decreased by 11.38%, which was the largest deterioration range. With the increase in erosion time, the deterioration rate gradually decreased; temperature had a significant threshold effect on the strength of carbonaceous shale, and a clear turning point appeared at about 200 °C. By simulating the deterioration effects of carbonaceous shale under the coupled action of chemical erosion and high temperature, it was found that the longer the duration of chemical erosion, the stronger the temperature sensitivity of carbonaceous shale, and the more serious the loss of compressive strength during the heating process. When the temperature was low, the strength of carbonaceous shale changed little, and some samples even showed an increase in strength; when the temperature was high, the strength of carbonaceous shale decreased significantly, showing deterioration characteristics. The numerical simulation method was compared and verified with the indoor test results, and it was found that the numerical calculation had a good agreement with the test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The multidrug resistance of Helicobacter pylori is becoming an increasingly serious issue. It is therefore necessary to study the mechanism of multidrug resistance of H pylori. We have previously identified that the HP0939, HP0497, and HP0471 transporters affect the efflux of drugs from H pylori. As efflux pumps participate in bacterial multidrug resistance and biofilm formation, we hypothesized that these transporters could be involved in the multidrug resistance and biofilm formation of H pylori. Materials and Methods: We therefore constructed three knockout strains, Δhp0939, Δhp0497, and Δhp0471, and three high‐expression strains, Hp0939he, Hp0497he, and Hp0471he, using the wild‐type (WT) 26 695 strain of H pylori as the template. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of wild strains, knockout strains, and high‐expression strains to amoxicillin, metronidazole, and other antibiotics were measured. The efflux capacity of high‐expression strains and wild strains was compared by Hoechst 33 342 accumulation assay. Results: Determination of the MIC and MBC of the antibiotics revealed that the knockout strains were more sensitive to antibiotics, while the high‐expression strains were less sensitive to antibiotics, compared to the WT. The ability of the high‐expression strains to efflux drugs was significantly higher than that of the WT. We also induced H pylori to form biofilms, and observed that the knockout strains could barely form biofilms and were more sensitive to several antibiotics, compared to the WT. The mRNA expression of hp0939, hp0497, and hp0471 in the clinically sensitive and multidrug‐resistant strains was determined, and it was found that these genes were highly expressed in the multidrug‐resistant strains that were isolated from the clinics. Conclusions: In this study, we found three transporters involved in intrinsic multidrug resistance of H pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few risk tools have been proposed to quantify the long-term risk of diabetes among middle-aged and elderly individuals in China. The present study aimed to develop a risk tool to estimate the 20-year risk of developing diabetes while incorporating competing risks. A three-stage stratification random-clustering sampling procedure was conducted to ensure the representativeness of the Beijing elderly. We prospectively followed 1857 community residents aged 55 years and above who were free of diabetes at baseline examination. Sub-distribution hazards models were used to adjust for the competing risks of non-diabetes death. The cumulative incidence function of twenty-year diabetes event rates was 11.60% after adjusting for the competing risks of non-diabetes death. Age, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, health status, and physical activity were selected to form the score. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.76 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.72-0.80), and the optimism-corrected AUC was 0.78 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.69-0.87) after internal validation by bootstrapping. The calibration plot showed that the actual diabetes risk was similar to the predicted risk. The cut-off value of the risk score was 19 points, marking mark the difference between low-risk and high-risk patients, which exhibited a sensitivity of 0.74 and specificity of 0.65. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have reported that circulating cytokines (CCs) are linked to age-related neurodegenerative diseases (ANDDs); however, there is a lack of systematic investigation for the causal association. A two-sample bidirectional Mendelian Randomisation (MR) method was utilized to evaluate the causal effect. We applied genetic variants correlated with concentrations of CCs from a genome-wide association study meta-analysis (n = 8293) as instrumental variables. Summary data of three major ANDDs [Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)] were identified from the IEU OpenGWAS platform (n = 627, 266). Inverse-variance weighted method is the main approach to analyse causal effect, and MR results are verified by several sensitivity and pleiotropy analyses. In directional MR, it suggested that several CCs were nominally correlated with the risk of ANDDs, with a causal odds ratio (OR) of Interleukin (IL)-5 of 0.909 for AD; OR of IL-2 of 1.169 for PD; and OR of Beta nerve growth factor of 1.142 for ALS). In reverse MR, there were some suggestively causal effects of ANDDs on CCs (AD on increased Basic fibroblast growth factor and IL-12 and decreased Stem cell growth factor beta; PD on decreased Monokine induced by interferon-gamma; ALS on decreased Basic fibroblast growth factor and IL-17). The findings were stable across sensitivity and pleiotropy analyses. However, after Bonferroni correction, there is no statistically significant association between CCs and ANDDs. Through the genetic epidemiological approach, our study assessed the role and presented possible causal associations between CCs and ANDDs. Further studies are warranted to verify the causal associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alternative σ factor TcdR controls the synthesis of two major enterotoxins: TcdA and TcdB in Clostridioides difficile. Four potential TcdR-dependent promoters in the pathogenicity locus of C. difficile showed different activities. In this study, we constructed a heterologous system in Bacillus subtilis to investigate the molecular basis of TcdR-dependent promoter activity. The promoters of the two major enterotoxins showed strong TcdR-dependent activity, while the two putative TcdR-dependent promoters in the upstream region of the tcdR gene did not show detectable activity, suggesting that the autoregulation of TcdR may need other unknown factors involved. Mutation analysis indicated that the divergent -10 region is the key determinant for different activities of the TcdR-dependent promoters. Analysis of the TcdR model predicted by AlphaFold2 suggested that TcdR should be classified into group 4, i.e., extracytoplasmic function, σ70 factors. The results of this study provide the molecular basis of the TcdR-dependent promoter recognition for toxin production. This study also suggests the feasibility of the heterologous system in analyzing σ factor functions and possibly in drug development targeting these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study analyzed the hospital charges for stroke patients in China and determined the factors associated with hospital costs.Methods: Medical records of hospitalized patients with a primary diagnosis of acute stroke were collected from 121 hospitals in Beijing (2012). Distribution characteristics of hospital charges for different stroke types, hospital levels and types were studied. Factors influencing total hospital charges were analyzed.Results: 60.8% of the 94 906 stroke patients were male and the mean age of these patients was 66.5 ± 13.2 years. The median length of hospital stay (LOHS) for these patients was 14 d (interquartile range, IQR 9–19). The mean hospital charge per patient was 19 270 Chinese Yuan. Forty-five percent of these charges were for medicine, 18% for laboratory and examination, 16% for material, 15% for therapy, 5% for service and 1% for blood product. The mean hospital charge for patients suffering from hemorrhagic stroke was significantly more than ischemic stroke (34 937 vs. 17 049,p< 0.001), and was significantly more for Level 3 than Level 2 hospitals (23 762 vs. 14 554,p< 0.001). LOHS, hospital level and stroke severity were key determinants of the hospital charge.Conclusions: Though hospital charges for stroke patients in China were low, it brought a heavy economic burden for the larger stroke population. Medicine accounted for the largest percentage of hospital charges in China. LOHS emerged to be the main predictor of the cost. Decreasing medicine charge and LOHS might be strategies to decrease hospital charges and reduce economic burden of stroke in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributions of phosphorus and hydroxypropyl groups within granules of cross-linked and hydroxypropylated sweet potato starches were investigated. Chemical surface peeling of starch granules was performed after sieving of native and modified starches into large-size (diameter ≥ 20 μm) and small-size (diameter < 20 μm) fractions. Starch granules were surface gelatinized in a 4 M calcium chloride solution at different levels. After the peeling step, the remaining starch granules were analysed for the content of phosphorus and hydroxypropyl groups. The phosphorus level of the parental starch gradually decreased from periphery to core of the granules. The increase in phosphorus content after cross-linking in periphery was higher than that in core. The subsequent hydroxypropylation reaction resulted in lower phosphate levels. Hydroxypropylation resulted in a gradient of hydroxypropyl group concentration from periphery to core. Cross-linking prior to the hydroxypropylation resulted in lower levels of hydroxypropyl groups and less pronounced differences between periphery and core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The extensive deployment of molecular genotyping methods is the top reliable keyword to characterize the population genetic structure of C. neoformans in the past decade. However, studies involving genotypic analysis of C. neoformans var. grubii from China and Japan are limited. Objectives. We address this challenge to determine the genotype distribution of C. neoformans var. grubii strains from China and Japan. Methods. Genotypic analysis of 52 C. neoformans var. grubii isolates was performed using multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) based on the sequence analysis of 3 functional genes. In order to place the herein-studied strains into the global picture, 22 strains randomly selected from the 52 strains studied by MLMT were also analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the orotidine monophosphate pyrophosphorylase gene (URA5-RFLP), M13 PCR-fingerprinting, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Results. MLMT classified 46 (88.5%) of the 52 strains as genotype MLMT-17. The high prevalence of the MLMT-17 type was observed for environmental and clinical isolates from China and Japan. URA5-RFLP analysis, M13 PCR-fingerprinting, and MLST showed that most of these belong to the VNI/ST5 (M5) genotype. Conclusions. Our study suggests the predominance of a specific genotype of C. neoformans var. grubii in China and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue is endemic in many countries throughout the tropics and subtropics, and the disease causes substantial morbidity and health-care burdens in these regions. We previously compared antibody responses after one-dose, two-dose, or three-dose primary regimens with the only approved dengue vaccine CYD-TDV (Dengvaxia; Sanofi Pasteur, Lyon, France) in individuals aged 9 years and older with previous dengue exposure. In this study, we assessed the need for a CYD-TDV booster after these primary vaccination regimens.Methods: In this randomised, controlled, phase 2, non-inferiority study, healthy individuals aged 9-50 years recruited from three sites in Colombia and three sites in the Philippines (excluding those with the usual contraindications to vaccinations) were randomly assigned 1:1:1 via a permuted block method with stratification by site and by age group using an independent voice response system to receive, at 6-month intervals, three doses of CYD-TDV (three-dose group), one dose of placebo followed by two doses of CYD-TDV (two-dose group), or two doses of placebo followed by one dose of CYD-TDV (one-dose group). Participants were also randomly assigned (1:1) to receive a CYD-TDV booster at 1 year or 2 years after the last primary dose. Each CYD-TDV dose was 0·5 mL and administered subcutaneously in the deltoid region of the upper arm. The investigators and sponsor, study staff interacting with the investigators, and participants and their parents or legally acceptable representatives were masked to group assignment. Neutralising antibodies were measured by 50% plaque reduction neutralisation testing, and geometric mean titres (GMTs) were calculated. Due to a change in study protocol, only participants who were dengue seropositive at baseline in the Colombian cohort received a booster vaccination. The primary outcome was to show non-inferiority of the booster dose administered at 1 year or 2 years after the two-dose and three-dose primary regimens; non-inferiority was shown if the lower limit of the two-sided adjusted 95% CI of the between-group (day 28 post-booster dose GMT from the three-dose or two-dose group vs day 28 GMT post-dose three of the three-dose primary regimen [three-dose group]) geometric mean ratio (GMR) was higher than 0·5 for each serotype. Non-inferiority of the 1-year or 2-year booster was shown if all four serotypes achieved non-inferiority. Safety was assessed among all participants who received the booster. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02628444, and is closed to accrual.Findings: Between May 2 and Sept 16, 2016, we recruited and enrolled 1050 individuals who received either vaccine or placebo. Of the 350, 348, and 352 individuals randomly assigned to three-dose, two-dose, and one-dose groups, respectively, 108, 115, and 115 from the Colombian cohort were dengue seropositive at baseline and received a booster; 55 and 53 in the three-dose group received a booster after 1 year and 2 years, respectively, as did 59 and 56 in the two-dose group, and 62 and 53 in the one-dose group. After the three-dose primary schedule, non-inferiority was shown for serotypes 2 (GMR 0·746; 95% CI 0·550-1·010) and 3 (1·040; 0·686-1·570) but not serotypes 1 (0·567; 0·399-0·805) and 4 (0·647; 0·434-0·963) for the 1-year booster, and again for serotypes 2 (0·871; 0·673-1·130) and 3 (1·150; 0·887-1·490) but not serotypes 1 (0·688; 0·479-0·989) and 4 (0·655; 0·471-0·911) for the 2-year booster. Similarly, after the two-dose primary schedule, non-inferiority was shown for serotypes 2 (0·809; 0·505-1·300) and 3 (1·19; 0·732-1·940) but not serotypes 1 (0·627; 0·342-1·150) and 4 (0·499; 0·331-0·754) for the 1-year booster, and for serotype 3 (0·911; 0·573-1·450) but not serotypes 1 (0·889; 0·462-1·710), 2 (0·677; 0·402-1·140), and 4 (0·702; 0·447-1·100) for the 2-year booster. Thus, non-inferiority of the 1-year or 2-year booster was not shown after the three-dose or two-dose primary vaccination regimen in dengue-seropositive participants. No safety concerns occurred with the 1-year or 2-year CYD-TDV booster.Interpretation: CYD-TDV booster 1 year or 2 years after the two-dose or three-dose primary vaccination regimen does not elicit a consistent, meaningful booster effect against all dengue serotypes in participants who are seropositive for dengue at baseline.Funding: Sanofi Pasteur.Translation: For the Spanish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino acid surfactants have been applied to numerous areas of science and are often used in the presence of electrolytes. In this study, the interfacial rheological behaviors of potassium N-cocoyl glycinate (KCGl), an amino acid surfactant, with three kinds of electrolytes (KCl, CaCl2 and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBABr)) have been investigated using the oscillating drop method. The interfacial tensions (IFTs) and dilational rheological parameters show that KCGl in conjunction with electrolytes has enhanced interfacial activity and stronger intermolecular interaction than pure KCGl, indicating that electrolytes contribute to denser molecular packing at the oil–aqueous interface. Interestingly, the butyl groups of TBA+ hinder closer arrangement of molecules at the interface, hindering KCGl ability to form a tightly packed layer compared with K+ and Ca2+ electrolytes. The relaxation processes, such as diffusion exchange of surfactant molecules between the aqueous phase and interface, are more probable to occur. Therefore, more viscoelastic films are formed in the presence of TBABr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Revealing the substituents distribution within starch can help to understand the changes of starch properties after modification. The distribution of substituents over cross-linked and hydroxypropylated sweet potato starch was investigated and compared with modified potato starch. The starches were cross-linked with sodium trimetaphosphate and/or hydroxypropylated with propylene oxide. The native and modified starches were gelatinized and hydrolysed by pullulanase, β-amylase, α-amylase and a combination of pullulanase, α-amylase and amyloglucosidase. The hydrolysates were analysed by HPSEC, HPAEC and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Cross-linking had only a slight effect on the enzymatic hydrolysis, where hydroxypropylation evidently limited the enzymatic hydrolysis. The results obtained suggest that the hydroxypropyl substituents are not distributed regularly over the starch chains. Although the average substitution was around 2 hydroxypropyl groups per 10 glucose units, in the enzyme digests of hydroxypropylated starches, oligomer fragments of 10–15 glucose units, carrying 5–8 hydroxypropyl groups, were identified. It is hypothesised that higher levels of substituents are present in the amorphous regions and periphery of clusters of starch granules. This is the first time that the location of hydroxypropyl groups within sweet potato starch has been examined in this detail. Despite significant differences in granule architecture between starches from potato and sweet potato, similar patterns of hydroxypropylation have been found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One acetylated waxy potato starch and three acetylated normal potato starch samples were treated with aqueous calcium chloride (4mol/L) for surface gelatinization. The remaining granules after removal of gelatinized starch were investigated on size distribution and level of acetylation. Their crystal structure, thermal property and morphological change were studied with X-ray diffractometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Greater proportions of the acetyl groups were present at the periphery than at the core of the granule. Remaining granules obtained after higher degree of gelatinization showed greater relative crystallinity and gelatinization temperature. Morphology of gelatinized starch and remaining granules differed for acetylated waxy and normal potato starch samples. The results suggest that structural divergence exists not only between acetylated waxy and normal potato starches, but also within one granule. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the rapid increase in the penetration of wind power in recent years, wind power ramp events (WPREs) have become the main factors affecting the safety and stability of electric power systems. Accurate detection of ramp events could help power systems better manage the extreme events and reduce economic losses. The previous ramp detection methods are either too complex to implement that influence the computing efficiency, or based on the value of points which cannot completely reflect the trend of data segments and lead to a decrease of accuracy. Based on the above problems and the on-site requirements, this paper proposes a novel improved dynamic swinging door algorithm (ImDSDA) to optimise the state-of-the-art in WPREs detection. Firstly, the swinging door algorithm (SDA) is used to extract ramp segments. Secondly, the dynamic programming method is used for ramp trend identification and segment combination. Finally, raw data obtained from three real-world wind farms in Hubei, China were applied to validate the performance of the proposed ImDSDA. The detection results show that the ImDSDA is more accurate and efficient than the traditional detection methods and could be a feasible option for WPRE detection in power systems. • A novel wind power ramp event detection algorithm is presented. • The algorithm is based on swing door algorithm(SDA) and sliding window(SW). • The optimal 'door width' of SDA is obtained. • The algorithm shows good performance both in accuracy and efficiency. • Enable auxiliary decision-making for power systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Three doses of the licensed tetravalent dengue vaccine CYD-TDV (Dengvaxia, Sanofi Pasteur, Lyon France) are immunogenic and effective against symptomatic dengue in individuals aged 9 years and older who are dengue seropositive. Previous trials have provided some evidence that antibody responses elicited after just one dose or two doses of CYD-TDV might be similar to those elicited after three doses. We compared antibody responses following one-dose, two-dose, and three-dose vaccination regimens in individuals who were dengue seropositive at baseline up to 1 year after the last injection.Methods: In this randomised, controlled, phase 2, non-inferiority study (CYD65), healthy individuals aged 9-50 years were recruited from the community in three sites in Colombia and three sites in the Philippines. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1), using a permuted block method with stratification by site and age group, to receive, at 6-month intervals (on day 0, month 6, and month 12), three doses of CYD-TDV (three-dose group), one dose of placebo (on day 0) and two doses of CYD-TDV (at months 6 and 12; two-dose group), or two doses of placebo (on day 0 and month 6) and one dose of CYD-TDV (at month 12; one-dose group). Each dose of CYD-TDV was 0·5 mL, administered subcutaneously into the deltoid of the upper arm. Participants, study staff, investigators, and the funder were masked to group assignment. The co-primary endpoints were geometric mean titres (GMTs) of neutralising antibodies against each dengue virus serotype at 28 days and 1 year after the last vaccine injection. After a protocol amendment during the conduct of the study, the original co-primary objectives of non-inferiority of the one-dose and two-dose groups to the three-dose group were altered to include non-inferiority of the two-dose group to the three-dose group only, to be assessed in individuals who were dengue seropositive at baseline. Non-inferiority was shown if the lower limit of the 95% CI for the ratio of GMTs (GMR) at 28 days and 1 year between groups was more than 0·5 for each serotype. The analysis of the coprimary objectives was done in the per-protocol analysis dataset, which included all participants who had been vaccinated, had no protocol deviations, and had a valid serology test result for at least one dengue serotype at 28 days after the third injection. Safety was assessed throughout in all participants who received at least one injection of study drug, regardless of serostatus. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02628444, and is closed to accrual.Findings: Between May 2, 2016, and Sept 16, 2016, we recruited and enrolled 1050 individuals, of whom 1048 received at least one injection and 993 had at least one blood sample taken (full-analysis dataset; 333 in three-dose group, 328 in two-dose group, and 332 in one-dose group). 860 (86·6%) of 993 participants in the full-analysis dataset were dengue seropositive at baseline. Non-inferiority (two dose vs three dose) was shown for each serotype at both 28 days and 1 year among dengue-seropositive participants (number of participants assessed: 272 [two-dose group], 265 [three-dose group] at 28 days; and 190 [two-dose group], 185 [three-dose group] at 1 year). At 28 days after the last injection, neutralising antibody GMTs were 899 (95% CI 752-1075) in the two-dose group versus 822 (700-964) in the three dose group against dengue serotype 1 (GMR 1·09 [95% CI 0·86-1·39]); 869 (754-1002) versus 875 (770-995) against serotype 2 (GMR 0·99 [0·82-1·20]); 599 (524-685) versus 610 (535-694) against serotype 3 (GMR 0·98 [0·82-1·18]); and 510 (453-575) versus 531 (470-601) against serotype 4 (GMR 0·96 [0·81-1·14]). At year 1, GMTs had decreased but remained above baseline for all serotypes: 504 (95% CI 403-630) in the two-dose group versus 490 (398-604) in the three-dose group against serotype 1 (GMR 1·03 [0·76-1·40]); 737 (611-888) versus 821 (704-957) against serotype 2 (GMR 0·90 [0·71-1·14]); 437 (368-519) versus 477 (405-561) against serotype 3 (GMR 0·92 [0·72-1·16]); and 238 (205-277) versus 270 (235-310) against serotype 4 (GMR 0·88 [0·72-1·09]). Reactogenicity profiles were similar across treatment groups. Most unsolicited adverse events after any injection were non-serious and systemic in nature. During the study, 60 serious adverse events were reported in 58 participants (14 in three-dose group, 26 in two-dose group, 18 in one-dose group), mostly infection and infestations or injury, poisoning, and procedural complications. No serious adverse events of special interest or admissions to hospital for dengue occurred. Two deaths occurred, unrelated to study treatment.Interpretation: A two-dose CYD-TDV regimen might be an alternative to the licensed three-dose regimen in individuals who are dengue seropositive at baseline and aged 9 years and older. Vaccination with a reduced number of doses could lead to improved vaccine compliance and coverage, especially in low-resource settings.Funding: Sanofi Pasteur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino acid surfactants derived from vegetable oils have attracted significant interest in the scientific community due to their excellent biocompatibility and low environmental impact. Because of the wide variety of vegetable oils, derived N-acyl amino acid surfactants may feature various fatty acyl groups and therefore offer diverse properties. According to the composition of commonly used vegetable oils, three main characteristics of fatty acyl structures, namely fatty acyl chain length, the number of C C bonds, and hydroxyl substituent, were summarized in this paper and a series of N-fatty acyl glycinate surfactants were synthesized. The specific effects of these three structural factors on the surface tension and interfacial rheological properties were systematically studied. In doing so, we found that an increase of fatty acyl chain length enhanced the interfacial activity and intermolecular interactions of N-fatty acyl glycinate surfactants. Thus, glycinate surfactants with longer fatty acyls could generate more compact adsorption films with a higher dilational modulus. The cis C C bonds in oleoyl and linoleoyl chains were found to bend the long hydrophobic tails, which might affect the compact arrangement of surfactant molecules and increased the viscoelasticity of interfacial films. In addition, the hydroxyl group on ricinoleoyl was found to inhibit the close packing of the hydrophobic tails and reduced intermolecular interactions. As a result, more viscoelastic films were formed by sodium N-ricinoleoylglycinate. The obtained results gained insights into the relationships between fatty acyl structural characteristics and the interfacial arrangements of N-acyl amino acid surfactants, which present a theoretical foundation for surfactant design and further application. Unlabelled Image • Amino acid surfactants with specific fatty acyls were synthesized. • Surfactants with longer fatty acyls could generate more compact adsorption films. • C C in oleoyl/linoleoyl increased the viscoelasticity of the interfacial films. • Hydroxyl group on ricinoleoyl inhibited the close packing of hydrophobic tails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile and Bacillus cereus infections are frequently reported in human individually. However, co-infection of both pathogens in human is extremely rare. In the present study, we reported a case of human enteric disease caused by co-infection of C. difficile and B. cereus in Guizhou, China. The 16S rDNA sequencing result showed that C. difficile GMU1 and B. cereus GMU2 were most related to C. difficile ATCC 9689 and B. cereus ATCC 14579. The toxin genotype of C. difficile GMU1 and B. cereus GMU2 were tcdA + tcdB + tcdC + and bceT + nheA + nheB + nheC +, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that C. difficile GMU1 produced significantly higher toxin B compare to C. difficile 630 stain. In contrast, B. cereus GMU2 has comparable NheA toxin productivity compare to previous report. The antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that the combination of ampicillin and vancomycin was most efficient to inhibit both C. difficile GMU1 and B. cereus GMU2. Highlights • Report a rare case of toxin-producing B. cereus co-infected with C. difficile in China. • Analysis the physiological characteristics of co-infected C. difficile GMU1 and B. cereus GMU2. • Customize antimicrobial regimen (ampicillin and vancomycin) for the patient, which guided by antimicrobial susceptibility test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the virulence diversity of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in major ethnic groups residing in Guizhou province, China, and its association with clinical outcomes. Gastric mucosal biopsies were collected from the pylorus of patients with gastrointestinal disorders. H. pylori was identified by colonial morphology, Gram staining, a urease test and H. pylori-specific 16S rRNA gene fragment PCR amplification. DNA was extracted from pure culture and used for virulence gene analysis. The cytotoxin associated gene A (cagA), vacuolating cytotoxin A (vacA) and induced by contact with epithelium gene A (iceA) genes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction analysis. The cagA gene was further analyzed through sequencing of the C-terminal region containing EPIYA motifs, and phylogenetic analysis of the cagA C-terminal variable region was performed using MEGA 6.0 software. In the present study, 73 H. pylori strains were isolated from clinical samples. cagA genotypes were detected in all strains, namely cagA-AB, -ABC, -ABD and -BD genotypes were found in five (6.85%), three (4.11%), 63 (86.30%) and two (2.74%) isolates, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that there was a clustering association between the cagA-AB and cagA-ABC genotypes, and between the cagA-ABD and cagA-BD genotypes. In terms of the frequency of the four EPIYA or EPIYA-like motifs, the most predominant was EPIYA (92.92%), followed by EPIYT (3.77%), ESIYA (2.83%) and ESIYT (0.47%). The predominant vacA genotype was s1c/m2 (65.75%), and the predominant iceA genotype was iceA1 (79.45%). There were no associations between the H. pylori cagA, vacA or iceA genotypes and clinical outcomes. No significant difference was found in the distribution of these genotypes according to the age, ethnicity or location of residence of patients. In conclusion, H. pylori isolated from patients in Guizhou region, China, showed a unique genotype, which was mainly East Asia-type cagA (ABD), vacA s1c/m2 genotype or iceA1-postiive. These results provide important information on the distribution of H. pylori virulence genotypes in Guizhou province, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical model was first established in order to evaluate the physical possibility of a dynamic response occurring around an existing tunnel under conditions of unloading wave incidence. Based on the steady state solution of the wave expansion approach, transient solutions subjected to unloading waves with different unloading times were obtained. A three-dimensional numerical model was then constructed in order to simulate dynamic responses around an existing tunnel under unloading disturbance forces. In the simulation, dynamic unloading was carried out through a new excavation after stress redistribution had been finalized in the examined tunnel, and parametric studies were then conducted for various unloading times, stress levels and tunnel spacing configurations. The results show that dynamic effects are induced around an existing tunnel under high levels of initial stress and at high unloading rates. The results of the dynamic analysis show that the PPV of unloading-induced microseism can be as high as that of an explosion-induced wave, and damage can be inflicted on existing tunnel walls (especially on the incident side of a tunnel). This dynamic effect diminishes dramatically with an increase in tunnel spacing and unloading times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapidly growing markets for distributed and centralized grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems require the reliable and available information for reflecting and predicting the electricity generation of PV systems. In this work, the relationship between PV energy production and meteorological environmental factors is discussed by correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis. Meteorological data available, including the clearness index, diurnal temperature range, the global radiation on horizontal surface, and etc., are used as inputs. Then, according to factor analysis, these various interaction factors are extracted as two independent common factors. Finally, a new method based on factor analysis and multiple regression analysis has been developed for estimating the daily PV energy production. The meteorological data are collected from Wuhan Obsenatory, and power data from a roof grid-connected PV system located at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. The data of the whole year (from March in 2010 to February in 2011) has been used for model calibration and the following data of March in 2011 is used to test the predictions. The results show that there is significant positive correlation between the estimated values and the measured values; the rMBE per day is --0.14%, MAPE per day is 13.60% and rRMSE per day is 18.04%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Suspended particulate matter (SPM) was collected above and below the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on the Yangtze River in May, July and December 2009, respectively, for a study of the spatial and temporal variation in glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in the riverine system. The branched GDGTs (bGDGTs) were > 0.6ng/l and isoprenoid GDGTs (iGDGTs) > 0.3ng/l in most SPM samples in May and July, whereas, iGDGTs were on average about 10× more abundant than bGDGTs in December. The results suggest that the abundance of bGDGTs and iGDGTs in the Yangtze River at the TGD varied seasonally, which might be affected by soil runoff and in situ production. Despite these effects, the TEX86-inferred temperature derived from SPM reflected the measured river surface water temperature in the sampling months, suggesting that planktonic Thaumarchaeota might actively make iGDGTs in the river water near the TGD throughout the year. The bGDGT-derived CBT/MBT temperature from the SPM was not significantly different among the three seasons and the values together averaged 15.2±0.7°C, close to the annual mean air temperature (16.9°C) in the region near the TGD. However, the bGDGT-derived pHCBT values were close to the water pH and slightly higher than the pH of the local soil. These results suggest that the sources of bGDGTs in the river water are complicated and that bGDGTs may not solely derive from the local soil runoff. Nevertheless, our study highlights the potential of using TEX86 and MBT/CBT proxies for a better understanding of the source and mechanism of GDGT production in riverine systems increasingly affected by the construction of dams. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High resolution multi-annual regional climate model (RegCM3) experiments were performed to simulate the effects of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) on the climate of the surrounding areas. The model was run in double nested mode. Firstly a 50 km resolution simulation was conducted over the China domain driven by the coarse resolution NCEP/NCAR re-analysis. Then the output of the simulation was used to drive the model over the Three Gorges Area (TGA) at a resolution of 10 km. SUB-BATS scheme was employed in the 10 km simulation to represent the land surface at 2 km. Two 10 km simulation, one with and the other without the inland water in TGR were conducted. Comparison of the simulations against observation were firstly carried out to validation the model performances over TGA. The 10 km sensitivity experiments with and without the TGR showed that little or negligible effects can be found except directly over the TGR. Most of the simulated effects are noisy and not statistically significant, except for cooling over the TGR water body in both June–July–August (JJA) and December–January–February (DJF). The cooling leads to an/a insignificant decrease/slight decrease of precipitation over the TGR and nearby grid points, respectively. The cooling is larger in JJA compared to DJF. As a typical river-like reservoir, the width and coverage of the TGR does not have significant influence on the local climate over the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ghrelin attenuated secondary brain injury post-ICH in mice. • Ghrelin inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation following ICH in mice. • Ghrelin suppressed oxidative stress after ICH in mice. • Ghrelin promoted the Nrf2/ARE antioxidative signaling pathway following ICH in mice. Ghrelin, a brain-gut peptide, has been proven to exert neuroprotection in different kinds of neurological diseases; however, its role and the potential molecular mechanisms in secondary brain injury (SBI) after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are still unknown. In this study, we investigate whether treatment with ghrelin may attenuate SBI in a murine ICH model, and if so, whether the neuroprotective effects are due to the inhibition of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and promotion of nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidative response element (ARE) signaling pathway. Stereotactically intrastriatal infusion of autologous blood was performed to mimic ICH. Ghrelin was given intraperitoneally immediately following ICH and again 1 h later. Results showed that ghrelin attenuated neurobehavioral deficits, brain edema, hematoma volume, and perihematomal cell death post-ICH. Ghrelin inhibited the NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequently suppressed the neuroinflammatory response as evidenced by reduced microglia activation, neutrophil infiltration, and pro-inflammatory mediators release after ICH. Additionally, ghrelin alleviated ICH-induced oxidative stress according to the chemiluminescence of luminol and lucigenin, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and total superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity assays. These changes were accompanied by upregulation of Nrf2 expression, Nrf2 nuclear accumulation, and enhanced Nrf2 DNA binding activity, as well as by increased expressions of Nrf2 downstream target antioxidative genes, including NAD(P)H quinine oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1), glutathione cysteine ligase regulatory subunit (GCLC), and glutathione cysteine ligase modulatory subunit (GCLM). Together, our data suggested that ghrelin protected against ICH-induced SBI by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and promoting Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]